The F4D-1, or "Ford" as it was often called, came along at a time when new designs were leaping off the drawing boards and on to the U.S. Navys’s airfields & carriers.

The instructions are in color, with left side profiles of the 5 a/c possible from this sheet, along with 4 smaller overhead views. The decals themselves have virtually no clear film to cut away, and the printing is sharp. No maintenance, common markings or national insignia is provided, save for two small, non-standard for the type, national insignias for the VF-213 a/c. All the missing decals that are needed for completion are on sheet # 48092. The Tamiya kit is suggested.

Also included is a sheet of text with notes on each of the 5 a/c, a bibliography, a color cross reference guide, & decal application instructions.

The first a/c covered is from VF-213 "Black Lions", circa 1957. The aircraft is in the gull gray over white scheme. There is extra blue decal material to cover the tail boom. This unit currently flies the F-14D.

Next is a redesignated F-6A at the Naval Test Pilot School (NTPS) at Patuxent River, MD, circa 1967. The instructions state that this was the very last one of its type in service. This particular Ford was in a high visibility finish of overall white with red panels on the tail, nose, & wingtips.

The third a/c was a F4D-1 assigned to the National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA) Ames Research Center, NAS Moffett Field, CA, circa 1957. This a/c was in the standard gull gray over white scheme, with the words "TEST" on the top & bottom of the fuselage. A yellow band on the tail contained the NACA logo.

The other front line a/c depicted on the sheet is from VF-74 "Be-Devilers", circa 1961, while aboard the USS Intrepid. The red lightning bolt decals that are on each side of the nose are one-piece decals. Clear carrier film connects the two ends of the decal. The national insignia fills in this clear area. This a/c also has the squadron badge on the canopy and "SEXY SIX" on the left side splitter plate. The notes on this particular a/c state this was VF-74’s last cruise with the Ford, as they would become the very first front line unit to convert to the F-4B Phantom II .

The final a/c is actually the third a/c, with a new paint scheme. By 1959, NACA had become NASA. The entire nose section was painted red, along with the spine, vertical tail, and most of the upper surface of the wing. The NACA logo was gone from the yellow tail band, replaced with the simple NASA acronym.

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